Following the Supreme Court’s directive to inform it on the quantity of ore reserves of nine mining leases, apart from the six leases under ‘C’ category, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the Legislative Council on Wednesday that the government would file a detailed affidavit on the action taken to assess the ore reserve position.
In a suo motu statement, he said the government had submitted its plan to auction ‘C’ category mines to the Supreme Court in November 2014. The Court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC), in consultation with the State government, submitted its report to the apex court in January 2015.
Attributing the delay to scientific assessment of the reserve on the basis of the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) code for mineral resources, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the work was handed over to State-owned Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd. (MECL) after consulting the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM). Earlier, IBM estimated that 51 mines that come under ‘C’ category could produce 5 to 6 tonnes of ore a year, based on an old model of assessment. It was not possible to auction nine leases based on the old model. Even the new Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Ordinance specifies “scientific” assessment of the reserves. The UNFC method is the universally accepted method to evaluate mineral reserves.
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The State government was preparing to auction six mines, whose reserves were assessed in December. If court permits, the government would take steps to auction them. As much as Rs. 60 crore had been released to MECL for assessing the reserves in the rest of the nine mines, and it would expedite the process by June 2015.
Earlier, the Council witnessed an uproar followed by a walkout by Opposition BJP members over the issue. Opposition Leader K.S. Eshwarappa attempted to move an adjournment motion against the government on the issue.